French Comic Dieudonne Detained Over Paris Attack Facebook Post

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Jan. 14, 2015 / 9:57 AM GMT / Updated Jan. 14, 2015 / 12:55 PM GMT

PARIS — A French comic has been detained for defending terrorism after posting comments on Facebook — since deleted — that seemed to support the attackers who left 17 dead in the Paris region.

Dieudonne, who popularized an arm gesture that resembles a Nazi salute and who has been convicted repeatedly of racism and anti-Semitism, was in detention Wednesday. His provocative performances were banned last year but he has a core following among many of France's disaffected young people.

His Facebook post said he felt like "Charlie Coulibaly" — merging the names of Charlie Hebdo and Amedy Coulibaly, the gunman who seized a kosher market and killed four hostages, along with a policewoman.

On Monday, a man who praised the attackers in a drunken rant while resisting arrest was sentenced to four years in prison.